Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 26" Barrel on 30-06

Never owned one, but I've always thought a no. 1B would be cool to have in the collection. Too bad Ruger discontinued them. Still don't understand that one.

bigsqueeze, you basically nailed it on the head with both your statements....1) deer will definitely not notice the difference when hit with a 22 or 26 inch barrel and 2) I prefer a flatter shooting rifle for deer simply because they are flatter shooting:)

My other big game rifle is a Sako 338 Win Mag....definitely not flat. My first 338 Browning had a 26" barrel which didn't bother me at all. My last flat shooting rifle was a 7mm rem mag Browning. This next flat shooter will be a Sako, even if it is a 7mm again. Ain't it great to buy and sell for no other reason than it's fun:) I'm really loving my new Sako. 1 bull elk and 2 WT bucks claimed....that rifle never misses!

+1 all

ST : Accuracy breeds Confidence.

The nice thing about a longer barrel for a HB foothills shooter is that the muzzle blast is further away from your ears and face, making the necessary practice sessions more tolerable.

7mm Mashburn gets a lot of interest here over the 7mm Rem.
Also the 280AI for a little less MV than the 7RM.

If you're not a handloader the 270WSM/7mm are probably doing anything one really needs in a factory config.

for a pure Mule Deer rifle I'd also look at a .25'06

Cheers